Cuts elicit protests at university

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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Protesters hold up signs in the back of a meeting room where a Faculty Senate meeting was going on in the Alumni House at UAlbany in Albany, NY on Monday, October 18, 2010. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Protesters hold up signs in the back of a meeting room where a Faculty Senate meeting was going on in the Alumni House at UAlbany in Albany, NY on Monday, October 18, 2010. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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University at Albany President George Philip addresses the Faculty Senate about major program cuts at the university in the Alumni House at UAlbany in Albany, NY on Monday, October 18, 2010. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

University at Albany President George Philip addresses the Faculty Senate about major program cuts at the university in the Alumni House at UAlbany in Albany, NY on Monday, October 18, 2010. (Lori Van Buren / ... more

Photo: Lori Van Buren

Cuts elicit protests at university

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The University at Albany's decision to eliminate five humanities majors has earned the school some national ire as critics have questioned how a school with the motto "The World Within Reach" could cut language offerings.

School officials cited low enrollment among the reasons for the recent decision to eliminate admissions to the Italian, French, Russian, classics and theater departments. But a quieter phasing-out of other courses suggests that the school also is cutting into some of its popular academic programs.

Next fall, proposed course offerings in journalism, which has 206 student majors and 139 minors, could be cut almost in half. This spring, there are 25 course offerings. Next fall, there are expected to be 13. The Judaic studies program also has been gutted by attrition, so only a single full-time faculty member remains, and he has been incorporated into the history department.

Some of the journalism classes are being crammed with students. One course, Foundations of Journalism, could be turned into a large lecture with 100 students, instead of the current cap of 40, to cut down on the required number of adjunct instructors.

That has Ashley Hupfl, a freshman who intends to declare a major in journalism, thinking about leaving.

"I feel the university is more focused on money than education," she said. "If they're jeopardizing that, there's not much reason to stay here."

Despite woes in the media industry, UAlbany's journalism major has grown since its introduction in 2006. The program has four full-time faculty and relies on adjuncts. Courses in the major are "highly sought-after, and they fill up fast" and "competition for seats is fierce," according to the UAlbany website. School officials have considered restricting access to the major because its growth had overrun resources.

The decision to reduce the programs comes from the College of Arts and Sciences and is part of an effort to streamline the journalism program for its own betterment that has been occurring for at least a year, UAlbany spokesman Karl Luntta said.

"While the reduced budget looms over many of the university's discussions, the internal assessments made by the journalism program, and other programs around the university, are part of our desire to offer a wide range of comprehensive educational experiences strong in undergraduate liberal arts, humanities, and sciences," he said in a statement.

On Monday, faculty and students packed a meeting in which UAlbany President George Philip said difficult decisions had to be made in the face of $33.5 million in budget cuts by the state Legislature since 2008. He said the decisions to cut academic offerings were made because they would affect the least number of students, some 300 across all majors, by his count.

"Cutting budgets across the board is a formula for mediocrity," Philip said. "What it ultimately does over time is weaken every program on campus."

He said low enrollment was a reason for phasing out the language, theater and classics programs. That decision has resulted in an uproar, both in the higher education world as well as with alumni, such as Ronald Bustin, a 1964 graduate of the school. Bustin, who majored in Russian and history and went on to earn a graduate degree in Russian from UAlbany, said he had planned to leave the school a considerable part of his estate, but is now changing his will.

"They're telling students humanities mean nothing," he said.

Less clear is how UAlbany expects to handle popular majors like journalism amid dwindling resources. One possibility is a restricted major proposal that would limit the number of students in the field to those who maintain a minimum grade point average. The school expects to eliminate another 160 full-time positions by the end of fiscal year 2012, including one possible retirement in the journalism department.

Many of the faculty packed into Monday's tense meeting with Philip echoed the concern of professor David Wills, who said UAlbany had become the "laughingstock" of the international higher education community.

"There is no way that this doesn't amount to a first step in a major restructuring of this university," he said.

Scott Waldman can be reached at 454-5080 or by e-mail at swaldman@timesunion.com